The World’s 10 Best Indonesian Restaurants
Indonesian cuisine is one of Southeast Asia’s most varied food traditions, shaped by more than 600 ethnic groups, regional produce, and long-standing cooking techniques. Across the archipelago, you’ll find a broad spectrum of flavors and textures: spice-forward sauces, coconut-rich stews, charcoal grilling, fermentation, and dishes built around rice, herbs, chilies, and local greens. Kaum describes its concept as a culinary journey through that diversity, while Locavore NXT centers its cooking on locally sourced Balinese ingredients and foraging. In Southeast Asia’s restaurant capitals, Indonesian dining often appears in two strong forms: modern tasting-menu restaurants that reinterpret local ingredients, and heritage-focused kitchens that preserve regional traditions. August in Jakarta presents contemporary cooking with Indonesian influence and layered spices, while Nusantara at Locavore NXT is positioned as a contemporary showcase of traditional Indonesian cuisine. Candlenut in Singapore leans into Peranakan cooking, a Straits-Chinese tradition closely tied to the broader Indonesian-Malay culinary world. Taken together, these restaurants show how Indonesian food can be both deeply rooted and highly modern: from tribal and regional recipes to fine-dining expressions shaped by local sourcing and global technique. That range is exactly what makes the category compelling for travelers—there is no single “Indonesian restaurant” style, only a rich, evolving conversation between place, memory, and craft.
Locavore NXT
Indonesia
Locavore NXT in Lodtunduh, Ubud takes the original Locavore restaurant’s commitment to Indonesian ingredients into a larger space for cooking, experimentation and collaboration. The full dining experience follows a set tasting menu, with a limited number of guests at each service. The project extends beyond the meal through programmes exploring the ingredients and environments behind it. Guided foraging experiences take guests into Bali’s jungles and farmland, while culinary gatherings bring visiting chefs together to explore the island. The changing menus and these activities make local sourcing a practical part of the restaurant’s work, connecting the dining room with the landscape from which its ingredients come.
August
Jakarta, Indonesia
August is a restaurant in Sequis Tower on Jl. Jenderal Sudirman in Jakarta, Indonesia. Operated by chef Hans Christian and F&B professional Budi Cahyadi, it says it began in 2019 as a private dining experience before opening as a full restaurant at the end of 2021. The dining room is built around organised reservations and a dinner-only rhythm from Tuesday to Saturday, giving the business a focused, appointment-led character in central Jakarta. The kitchen is presented as a contemporary tasting-menu operation rather than an à la carte restaurant, with the whole table required to choose the same menu. August describes its cooking as globally inspired yet shaped by Indonesian culture, layered spices and a subtle sweetness, with local ingredients and artisans part of the story. Its founders also frame the restaurant as a way to support dedicated suppliers and to place Jakarta more firmly on the international culinary map. Inside, August offers several distinct seating formats: a main dining area, Chef’s Counter, lounge, Chef’s Table and Private Dining Room. The restaurant highlights an open-kitchen setting, while the Chef’s Counter faces the pastry kitchen and is intended for solo diners or pairs. The Chef’s Table seats up to eight, and the Private Dining Room seats up to 14, so the space can shift between close kitchen viewing and more secluded meals for smaller groups. Practical details reinforce the restaurant’s formal but relaxed tone. The dress code is relaxed-casual, payment is cashless, and children over six are welcome if they dine from the menu. Outside food is not permitted, and there is no children’s menu or high chairs. Together with the tasting-menu format and structured seating, these policies suggest a restaurant that aims for precision and calm rather than a casual drop-in experience.
Kaum
Bali, Indonesia
Kaum is an Indonesian restaurant at Desa Potato Head in Seminyak, Bali, on Jalan Petitenget No. 51B, and the current Potato Head pages place the Bali branch at Beach Club Level 1. It belongs to the Potato Head family, but it is presented as its own restaurant identity rather than a generic outlet. The concept is rooted in Indonesian culinary diversity, with the name Kaum meaning clan or tribe, and the Bali venue is described as a current part of the destination. The menu is shaped by research across the archipelago and brings together dishes and techniques from Aceh, Sulawesi, Maluku, Bali and Java. Official descriptions highlight bamboo grilling, fermentation, pit roasting, manual grinding and skewer grilling, giving the cooking a clear emphasis on regional methods rather than standard pan-Asian shorthand. The drinks list follows the same approach, using local spirits and spice-led cocktails, with handmade ceramic claypots used in the resting process for some drinks. The dining room is presented as a carefully considered space that reflects Indonesian craft and heritage. The Bali interior uses concrete wall panels stamped with motifs taken from Torajan wood carvings, while the long communal table is intended for shared, family-style dining. Bespoke ceramic tableware also forms part of the setting, reinforcing the restaurant’s link to traditional ways of serving food and its focus on a communal, rather than individual, dining rhythm. Kaum Bali serves lunch and dinner, and the current Potato Head pages also describe a limited tasting menu available by advance reservation. That tasting offer is presented as a journey through eastern Indonesia, with influences from Sulawesi, Maluku and Bali, together with wood-smoked seafood, wild-foraged spices and other ingredients associated with the region. Overall, the restaurant’s character is contemporary but strongly regional, combining researched recipes, distinctive presentation and a setting tied closely to Indonesian food culture.
Candlenut
Singapore
Candlenut explores Peranakan cooking through the family traditions that shaped chef Malcolm Lee. At Dempsey Road, his kitchen brings a contemporary sensibility to Straits-Chinese food while retaining the spices and inherited recipes that give the cuisine its identity. The choice includes an à la carte menu and the playfully named Ah-Ma-Kase experience, offered at lunch and dinner. Meals are designed around the pleasure of sharing, encouraging diners to discover how different dishes work together across the table. The 90-seat dining room, designed by Paola Navone of OTTO Studio, continues that dialogue between heritage and the present. Modern interiors incorporate Peranakan details, providing a considered backdrop without turning the room into a historical reconstruction. Candlenut is an engaging address for visitors seeking a fuller understanding of Singapore’s food culture. It offers both a connection to home cooking and a chef’s individual interpretation, with enough range to reward a communal meal and a willingness to try unfamiliar flavours.
Warung Tujuh
London, UK
Warung Tujuh is a restaurant in London, UK.
Indo Rasa
Sydney, Australia
Indo Rasa is a restaurant in Sydney, Australia.
Nusantara
Bali, Indonesia
Nusantara is a restaurant in Bali, Indonesia.
Toko Sari
Netherlands
Toko Sari is an Indonesian restaurant in Stadskanaal, in the north-east of the Netherlands, trading from Beneluxlaan 7. Its own website presents it as a place for authentic Indonesian dishes, snacks, herbs and catering, with the business currently operating as an order-and-pick-up/delivery style outlet rather than a full-service dining room. The site also shows that the restaurant is closed on Mondays and Sundays, with service concentrated from Tuesday to Saturday. The menu is built around complete meat, chicken and vegetarian meals served with rice, vegetables, atjar, kroepoek, tempeh and tofu. Signature dishes listed online include smoor rund, rendang, kip rendang, kip kuning, kip masala and garnalen, alongside nasi rames, bami rames and nasi koening. Customers can also order satay chicken, sandwiches with rendang or chicken, and dishes sold by weight for more flexible portions. The kitchen description suggests a practical, freshly prepared style of service. Toko Sari says meals are made daily, that items may sell out during the day because fresh produce is used, and that food is packed in microwave-safe containers so it can be reheated at home. It also offers warm local delivery, collection, and a range of drinks including cappuccino, coffee, tea and seasonal Indonesian drinks such as tjendol and es shanghai on Saturdays. Overall, Toko Sari appears to be a compact neighbourhood Indonesian takeaway with a broad menu and some dine-in-adjacent flexibility through collection and delivery. The range of rice meals, soups, noodle dishes, sambal chicken and self-assembled menus points to a kitchen designed for varied everyday orders rather than a narrow specialist concept. Its Stadskanaal setting, straightforward service model and emphasis on freshly prepared food give it the character of a local Indonesian toko with restaurant functions.
Hujan Locale
Bali, Indonesia
Hujan Locale is a restaurant in Bali, Indonesia.
Bali Bali
Germany
Bali Bali is a restaurant in Germany.